A civilian cargo ship sailed through a “new humanitarian corridor” out of Odesa, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a milestone defiance of Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian port cities.
“Ukraine has just made an important step toward restoring the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea,” Zelensky posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “The first civilian vessel has passed through Ukraine’s new humanitarian corridor, departing from the port of Odesa. It’s currently on its way to the Bosporus.”
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That voyage represents the first passage out of a Ukrainian port since Russian President Vladimir Putin scuttled the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a United Nations-brokered deal allowing the export of Ukraine’s vast food stores to global markets. Russian officials have reveled in raising the global cost of the war by restricting Ukrainian food supplies, but the departure of the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship may call into question their enforcement of the blockade.
“The good thing is that grain deal seems to work without Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Oleksandr Merezhko wrote in a message to the Washington Examiner. “Maybe the pressure on it was so serious that Russia doesn’t risk to attack Ukrainian ships anymore.”
The immediate implications for the grain exports, for now, are largely symbolic. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other U.S. officials have questioned whether international transportation companies and insurance companies would be willing to take the risk of traveling to and from the Ukrainian ports without Russian security guarantees, but regular departures from Ukrainian ports could embolden the export industry.
“The value is to show that Russia is not almighty and they are not controlling the situation on the Black Sea,” a senior European official said. “It’s also showing of course, others also, that it’s possible. But still, the risks are high.”
The ship that departed on Wednesday, named Joseph Schulte, has been trapped in Odesa since Putin launched the campaign to overthrow the Ukrainian government on Feb. 24, 2022.
“This transport corridor will be primarily used to evacuate ships that were in [Ukrainian] ports at the time of the full-scale invasion of the Russia,” Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov posted on X.
Russian authorities have not abandoned their intent to keep Ukrainian food supplies off global shelves. On Wednesday, Russian forces bombarded a pair of Ukrainian ports near the Romanian border in an apparent attempt to crimp a Danube River route that offers the hope of getting Ukrainian grain into NATO-territories waters.
“This escalation demonstrates [that] Moscow continues to prevent grain and foodstuffs from reaching those who need it most throughout the world,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said Wednesday. “Our Ukrainian partners are inspiring the world while Russia starves it by weaponizing food.”
NATO allies are trying to help alleviate that pressure within the limits set by trans-Atlantic hesitance to mount a direct challenge to the Russian blockade.
“NATO Allies that have coastal borders have deployed ships to find and neutralize mines in the Black Sea, in order to protect human lives, as well as commercial shipping," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Wednesday afternoon.
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Russian leaders have talked openly of their intent to undermine international support for Ukraine by blockading Ukrainian food exports while making their own deliveries to their “friends” in the world. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev characterized food as a “quiet weapon” while outlining this strategy last year, and Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian grain and agricultural infrastructure inside Ukraine.
"A safe sea for all," Zelensky posted. "This is Ukraine's and our partners' principled stance. Freedom and safety of navigation are fundamental international principles."